Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Get After It

40°C and heading up!

My photographic chemicals thermometer, being of no further use to me as far as taking the temperature of liquids for developing and fixing film or prints in this digital world, serves a new purpose as an accurate and visual representation of riding conditions. The mercury, or whatever the blue-tinged liquid in there is, should top the 110°F mark later this week. Excellent commuting weather with proper prep and planning.

But this post is only tangentially related to the summer heat of Phoenix. Instead, it's about a simple phrase that I find very useful lately: get after it. It's a phrase of action, not words or thought. It motivates to go out and do it, rather than over-planning, or considering, or worrying about it. A certain amount of planning is prudent, depending on what "it" is, so get after it, too! Plan the plan, do the prep, then get after it. Be careful out there. But get out there.

I hear a lot of not-getting-after-it masquerading as planning which is really not planning, but, frankly, nonconstructive self-dialogue. People talking themselves out of it. People thinking about it but not getting after it. People worrying about it so much that they never get around to it. People finding excuses to not get after it. Reasons. Doubts. Concerns. Friction. Fiction. Resistance. Oh just stop. Drink plenty of water. Stay cool. Seek shade. Be careful. Get after it.

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Thriving on two wheels

I commute by bicycle in Phoenix, Arizona, a place suited for riding bicycles of all types, with weather, mountains, roads, canals, and paths to keep me forever spinning. My favorite bike tools are an open mind, anger control, curiosity, compassion, common ground, and the search for knowledge. With coffee.

Dedicated to the Lost and Bold

Arizona 3 foot law ARS §28-735. Overtaking bicycles; civil penalties A. When overtaking and passing a bicycle proceeding in the same direction, a person driving a motor vehicle shall exercise due care by leaving a safe distance between the motor vehicle and the bicycle of not less than three feet until the motor vehicle is safely past the overtaken bicycle. B. If a person violates this section and the violation results in a collision causing: 1. Serious physical injury as defined in section 13-105 to another person, the violater is subject to a civil penalty of up to five hundred dollars. 2. Death to another person, the violater is subject to a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars. C. Subsection B of this section does not apply to a bicyclist who is injured in a vehicular traffic lane when a designated bicycle lane or path is present and passable